Chronic meningococcal meningitis. An association with C5 deficiency.

A 44-year-old man with a history of presumed meningococcal meningitis 32 years before, presented with a three-month illness, characterized by fever, 13.5-kg (30-lb) weight loss, occipital headache, shoulder pain, and muscle weakness, which had been diagnosed as "polymyositis" and treated accordingly. Evaluation revealed meningococcal meningitis due to serogroup W135 and a C5 deficiency. Evidence for the occurrence of chronic meningococcal meningitis is described.